524 Mr. Harris on the Aurora Borealis. 



the Aurora became as before, the light becoming insensibly 

 fainter from the lower edge to about 45, where it was no 

 longer perceived. After the coruscations in the N.E., the 

 main body of light seemed to move rapidly to the westward, 

 the whole phenomenon, however, becoming much brighter. 

 The lower edge again became ragged, and approached the 

 horizon ; and in the W.N.W. brilliant columns of light, tinged 

 with pale flame colour, shot up to the altitude of 50. From 

 this time to about 9 h 15 m the Aurora was in its greatest 

 beauty ; a large body of light appearing constantly travelling 

 from N.W. to N., and vice versa. Whenever coruscations 

 were about to be thrown up, the lower edge of the cloud be- 

 came like the base of a thunder-shower, the ragged points 

 being at times brilliantly luminous : from these points the 

 columns of light shot up with great intensity. About 9 h 15 m 

 a most splendid coruscation shot up from due N. It appeared 

 to extend down to the horizon, and shot up to the height of 

 about 50, the column itself being 4 wide. The upper ex- 

 tremity, and, indeed, the greater part of the sky from N. to 

 W.N.W. , at the height of about 55, was of a beautiful pale 

 flame colour. Beautiful columns of light were at the same 

 time shooting up from the N.W. and N.N.W., and faint 

 nebulae of light were visible about 10 to 15 N. of the zenith ; 

 the Aurora then again faded into a large luminous track from 

 N.W. to N.E., and its lower edge but ill defined : the flame- 

 colour remained for some time on the upper edge. Small 

 cirostrati in the N. and N.E. were thrown out in the most 

 striking relief; and at 9 b 15 m Deneb was, for a few seconds, 

 but faintly visible. The light against the north side of a house 

 was as strong as that of the moon at the quarter. At 10 h P.M. 

 the Aurora was very faint ; its lower edge about 7 from the 

 horizon, from which the light gradually faded off, and was 

 faintly perceptible at 45. The sky beneath, however, was of 

 that inky blackness so peculiar to this phenomenon. Barometer, 

 9 P.M., 29.82, thermometer 40.5. About 4 P.M., in the N.E. 

 and N.W., a thin brown haze was visible, a very unusual cir- 

 cumstance, with a westerly wind and in unsettled weather ; the 

 haze split off at times in horizontal tiers, and it was impossible 

 to discover whether it was haze or distant cirrus; indeed, 



